Softball Heads To Arizona For NCAA Regionals

NORMAN, Okla. - The No. 21 Oklahoma softball team (40-19-1) will begin its pursuit of a fifth straight Women's College World Series appearance in Tucson, Arizona on Thursday afternoon when it takes on Temple (29-16) at 1:30 p.m. (CST) on Hillenbrand Field.

OU is joined in the Region One field by host and No.1-ranked Arizona (53-4), No. 9 Louisiana-Lafayette (52-6), South Carolina (27-22), U.C. Santa Barbara (32-29), Northwestern (32-18) and Centenary (35-28). The Sooners are No. 2 seed behind Arizona while Northwestern is No. 3, Lafayette No. 4, South Carolina No. 5, Santa Barbara No. 6, Temple No. 7 and Centenary No. 8.

"It's the toughest regional in the country. There is no question about it," said OU head coach Patty Gasso. "But you have to go through Arizona to win a national championship every year. So this isn't a bad thing. We get to take our shot now and earn our way back to our fans and the (Women's College) World Series."

Region 1 Bracket | Complete NCAA 64-Team Field

Arizona, Lafayette and OU were all participants in the 2003 WCWS. OU and Arizona went 1-2 before being eliminated, while Lafayette went 0-2.

The Sooners ride a 16-game winning streak into the Region 1 Championships. OU has not lost a game in a regional since 1999. Last season, they won a regional championship for the first time away from Norman, when they took Region 5 as the No. 1 seed in Gainsville, Fla.

"We have to take on the lessons we have learned this season and put them to work," said Gasso. "We have a lot of players from the west coast and they are excited to head back that way. We expect to see a lot of friendly faces in the crowd, which will really help with our comfort level."

Arizona has been the consensus No. 1 team in the land for most of the season. The Wildcats jumped out to a school record 34-0 record and claimed the Pac 10 Championship for the eighth time. Arizona makes its 18th consecutive NCAA Regional appearance and has won its last 16 to earn berths in the Women's College World Series each year since 1988. The U-of-A has been a host site 12 times, including last year.

OU and Arizona met earlier this season during the Kia Klassic (March 19) with the Wildcats defeating OU 9-1.

The Ragin Cajuns of Lafayette are the No. 9 team in the country but have been seeded No. 4 in the regional. Lafayette is carried by junior pitcher Brooke Mitchell who is 41-3 with a 0.55 ERA.

No. 3 seed Northwestern is led by ace Eileen Canny who is 18-3 on the season. Northwestern finished fourth in the Big 10 regular-season standings and was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the conference tourney by eventual-champion Michigan State.

UCSB closed out the season with a 14-5 record, including five wins against ranked opponents. The Gauchos took two out of three from then 19th-ranked Pacific, swept a doubleheader from WAC Champion and then-No. 11 Fresno State, and downed Big West Champion and 18th ranked Long Beach State 4-1 in its own park.

South Carolina was ranked in the top-25 for the early part of the season before struggling in SEC play. The Gamecocks lost both of their games in the conference tournament to LSU and Auburn. USC finished in fourth place of the SEC Eastern Division during the regular season. OU and South Carolina were scheduled to play in the Florida State Invitational earlier this season but the entire tournament was rained out.

The only team besides Arizona in the regional that OU has faced this season is Centenary. OU defeated Centenary four times this year by combined total of 32-1. The Ladies won the Mid-Continental Conference Tournament and are awarded the No. 1 seeded team in the land to begin the postseason.

OU is coming off a 2-2 finish and semifinal appearance in the Big 12 Tournament. OU fell to eventual-champion Nebraska (7-0) and Missouri (3-2, 13 innings) and defeated Baylor (5-2) and Kansas (1-0).

OU has an all-time record of 7-20 against Arizona and hasn't defeated the 'Cats since 2000 when they defeated them in route to its first national championship. OU has all-time winning records against Northwestern (7-1), Temple (2-0), and Centenary (4-0). The Sooners have all-time losing records against Lafayette (4-13) and South Carolina (1-5), while a potential meeting with UCSB would be a first for the programs.

The Sooners will fly to Tucson on Tuesday morning and practice at Hillenbrand Field on Wednesday.

Game 11 in the regional is scheduled to be broadcast by College Sports Television at 2 p.m. on Saturday. OU has to win its first two games to reach the televised game. Game 11 will also be broadcast by CSTV on Sunday at 3 p.m. (CST). CSTV is available on Time Warner, Adelphia and Insight cable systems, among others, and is also available on DirecTV (channel 610).

Fans can purchase tickets by calling the Arizona ticket office at (520) 621-CATS or 1 (800) 452-CATS.

Additional Quotes

Patty Gasso
On the team's early game plan:
"We have to take it one game at a time. I don't care where we go or who we play, our approach is the same. We'll concentrate on Temple and move on from there. All we can do is give it everything we've got and get after it."

OU junior pitcher Kami Keiter
On being sent to Arizona for regionals:
"The best thing we can do is get excited. No matter the regional, we have to win four games to get back to OKC and play in front of our fans. We have a great blue print in the last four years that we will draw upon as we get ready to make a run."

On playing in Pac 10 country:
"With all of our west coast players, I am sure we will bring in a good crowd. Plus we are always extra motivated when we know that a Pac 10 team could be in our future. Our team will be fired up and I know we'll play in front of a good fan base."

Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year Heather Scaglione
On the regional:
"Everyone thinks we have to be giant killers. It's a great challenge and we're proud to be a No. 2 seed in such a competitive regional. The field is set up for a us to possibly make a great run."

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Softball Heads To Arizona For NCAA Regionals

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